Greetings and Happy New Year!
Pasta Maker and Class Recipe Book
New Englanders have a love hate relationship with the seasons. We love to say that New England is the best region in the country because we have four very distinct and uniquely special seasons. This being said we all know that winter can sometimes be one of the most difficult to endure especially at the rate we are going.
La Cuisine has the perfect cure for those Winter Blues; a cooking class here in our state of the art kitchen. The first class “Pasta” was a smashing success, each and every student left with an ear to ear grin and a full belly. Executive Chef Uli Weil has a special place in his heart for homemade pasta and it was his mission last Wendesday night to impart that love onto our students.
Students starting by donning aprons and kitchen towels and then got right to work mixing eggs, flour and a pinch of salt to get their pasta dough started. Kneading was the next order of business, followed by multiple runs through the pasta machine. The first pasta that students made was the Herbed Fettucine.
Making Agliotti
Next was Butternut Squash Agliotti, basically more intricately folded ravioli, that are made by rolling out large sheets of dough and filling each one with a dollop of filling. The filled sheet is then pinched together by hand, cut with a pasta wheel, and then folded into the desired shape.
Students rotated through the various stations in the kitchen taking turns making dough, needed, and perfecting the art of using the hand cranked pasta machine. Students who started the class only watching were soon covered in flour and were rolling pasta dough like experts.
The open forum gave students the opportunity to ask questions about consistency of the dough, amount of kneading required, what happens if the dough breaks, how much pasta do I need for my family, what are the cooking times for fresh pasta. Uli fielded each and every question and the intimate format allowed everyone to really get involved.
Uli Teaching Class
After about an hour and half, students washed up and headed to the communal table in the Cafe and Market to eat the fruits of their labor. It was truly amazing to see people who just a few hours before had been pasta novices emerge comfortable and confident in their pasta making skills. Uli preprepared three sauces to accompany the pastas. A Ragu Bianco (mushrooms, chicken livers, garlic, with a touch of cream, very rich), a Sage Brown Butter with Balsamic Vinegar (browned butter, walnuts, sage, and balsamic vin.), and finally a traditional Marinara Sauce. Once cooked, the pastas were left undressed so that each student could try a small helping of sauce with their freshly made pasta.
Students finished the night by discussing their efforts, the taste of their pastas, and the techniques involved. Uli sat down with students as they ate to answer any lingering questions and talk more about his philosophy on food and cooking in general.
Next up, Braising!, this class will focus on using under utelized cuts of meat that are often less expensive to make extra ordinary stews and warm winter dishes. Space is limited but still available, please call us at 203-488-777 and/or check the Cooking Classes section on www.lacuisine.net. for more information.
Keep those Winter Blues at bay, Happy Cooking from La Cuisine.
Tags: Add new tag, agliotti, braising, brown butter, butternut squash, Cafe, Classes, cooking, cooking classes, fettucine, LaCuisine, marinara, Market, New England, pasta, ragu, sauces, success, Uli Weil, winter
